Star Trek: Discovery - Succession

Star Trek: Discovery (IDW) #2

by Kirsten Beyer, Mike Johnson, Ángel Hernández (Illustrator)

A new adventure tied directly to events from the second half of the hit CBS All Access series' first season, featuring all your favorite characters!

...Or, at least, versions of them.

Ten years before Kirk and Spock set off on their original five year mission, the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery visited the infamous Mirror Universe, and didn't like what they found. Now journey deeper into the alternate reality, and uncover more about the Mirror versions of Michael, Saru, Ash, Paul, and Sylvia as they learn that "Succession" can be a truly dangerous concept.

Collects the four-issue series and the 2018 Annual.

Genres: Star Trek, Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Media Tie In, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published November 20, 2018

Reviews

[La Gran Biblioteca de David · Rating 4 out of 5]

El emperador Georgiu ha muerto y su hija, Michael, es la heredera. La noticia de la muerte de esta da lugar a la coronación de su primo, Alexander. Este, un déspota y genocida, comienza su misión de limpieza espacial. Tras crear un gas tóxico, este quiere matar a todas las razas no humanas de todos los planetas para, posteriormente, repoblarla con la raza pura (la humana). Pero un grupo de rebeldes se va a enfrentar a él y las traiciones se van a ir sucediendo unas a otras.

La trama de este cómic sucede en el Universo Espejo, con una historia alternativa donde los protagonistas cambian por completo sus roles. Al principio es algo compleja, ya que se van sucediendo continuos saltos temporales entre el pasado y el presente y hay muchas historias que no se explican del todo bien. Esto puede resultar confuso al comienzo, pero luego se hace una historia apasionante y sin aliento.

Alexander es un buen villano. Él no duda en matar a su propia familia, va más allá, y planea exterminar a todas las razas extraterrestres. Todo esto para conseguir el poder absoluto y la pureza de la raza, pero de la raza humana. Michael Burnham es un personaje entre la luz y la sombra. Es una mujer que va a luchar cueste lo que cueste contra la tiranía de Alexander para que reine la paz en la Galaxia, pero nos va a traer más de una sorpresa. Michael va a tener que unir fuerzas con L'Rell, una "terrorista" klingon que lucha por la libertad de su pueblo. Además tenemos a la Capitana Airiam, medio cyborg, medio humana, pero igualmente sádica y malévola. También nos dará más de una sorpresa.

La trama es un sinfín de luchas de poder, de conspiraciones y donde la traición continuada es el elemento clave y principal de este cómic. Pero esa traición se centra en el Imperio Terrano. El ritmo es trepidante, intenso, rápido y te dejará sin aliento, sin ningún momento de descanso. Además las continuas traiciones y ese aire de tensión constante dejará al lector pegado a sus páginas.

En cuanto al apartado artístico, Hernández hace un enorme trabajo al dotar del mismo aspecto físico a los personajes de este cómic que los actores reales de la serie, así son claramente identificables (aunque no es necesario ver la serie). Son unos dibujos muy detallados y dinámicos, con unos colores de Roberts muy vistosos y que encajan a la perfección. Por último, tenemos contenido extra: ilustraciones, portadas y fotografías de la misma serie.

https://lagranbibliotecadedavid.blogs...

[Taaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Irgendwie fehlt mir da was. Erst eine lange Geschichte über das Mirrorverse, aber ohne wirkliches Ende (und ohne, dass man Charaktermotivationen wirklich erkennen könnte), und plötzlich eine Stamets-Origin-Story im Primeverse, die aber viel zu kurz ist? Das hätte man besser machen können.

Und vor allem: Wo kommt Mirror-Burnham plötzlich her?

[John Yelverton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have never been a fan of the mirror universe in "Star Trek," and this graphic novel did nothing to change my opinion on that subject. Furthermore, it creates definite canon issues within "Star Trek: Discovery" itself, which is already the most disruptive show to "Star Trek" canon ever created.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the Terran Empire, the question of succession is always foremost in the minds of many. When Emperor Georgiou is executed, the power vacuum presents an opportunity for many. But who will eventually wear the crown?

Another interesting chapter in the 'Star Trek: Discovery' storyline, which presents the characters of the Mirror Universe and provides an opportunity for them to grow and develop.

[♡*WithLove, Reesie*♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall 3.5☆
Story ☆☆☆
Art ☆☆☆☆

I like how it fills in the gap of that timeline where everyone is basically a murderer lol

[Jesse A · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun addition

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did you wonder what happened back in the Mirrorverse once Emperor Georgiou and the rest of the Discovery crew went back to their home universe? Well, look no further.

These four issues detail the rise, fall, and rise again of the Terran empire, as the Emperor's seat changes hands multiple times in quick succession. It's fun to see the Terran versions of all your favourite Disco characters, including some that you either didn't see or didn't get to spend a lot of time with during the episodes themselves. It's political intrigue at the highest level, and has more double-crosses than you can shake a starship at, as well as a final page reveal that will make any Trek fan smile.

Also included here is Discovery Annual 2018, which is basically the secret origin of Paul Stamets; I never expected 30 pages about mushrooms to be interesting, but it absolutely is, and the budding relationship between Paul and Hugh Culber blossoms across the pages too. I was smiling from about 3 pages in right through to the end. It's a bit of a tonal difference from Succession itself, but I'm really glad I got to read it.

The art on all five issues here is from Angel Hernandez, who I've not experienced before but has a clean, sleek look and beautiful colouring as well. The likenesses of the actors are captured easily, without coming across as phototraced or anything like that.

It's amazing how much fun you can have with a mirror universe and mushrooms, isn't it?

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is just a pretty alright mirror universe story. not a lot else to say about it. not really the kind of story i usually go looking for. i do appreciate seeing in flashbacks that mirror georgiou was genuinely gutted when her michael died.

you know what this was really missing, though? captain killy. definitely needed more (aka any) captain killy.

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check out my megareview of the star trek discovery books & comics on my blog, 24,000 miles to the moon! https://24000milestothemoon.com/2022/...

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 2 out of 5]

So the second volume of Star Trek: Discovery comics has a four-issue arc that doesn't feature any of the main characters. Instead it's about the continued political intrigues of the Mirror Universe. Gotta say: it might have been good storytelling but I don't care about any of these characters, and so I didn't care about this story.

The 2018 annual is also contained herein. It's a prologue story about Stamets' initial work on the Spore Drive and his meeting of Hugh. After an uneven start, there some charming stuff here and some good backstory.

[Quinn Rollins · Rating 3 out of 5]

The back up story about Stamets' early years with the mycelial network was more enjoyable than the Mirror Universe story that makes up the bulk of this collection; it may be that reading this directly after the Season 3 two-parter was just Too Much Mirror for me. Still an enjoyable book, I usually like Kirsten Beyer's Trek stories. Worth it for a Discovery Fix.

[Lisa Buchanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Star Trek Mirror Universe is always fun because it's such a change of pace from the Prime Universe, but it can also be a bit discombobulating for the same reason. Because it's set in the mirror universe, this story is more violent than your average Star Trek, which I don't mind, but I didn't find the arc in this story terribly interesting, perhaps because the events taking place were so far outside the Trek norm.

I would give the Succession series three stars, but gave an extra one here for the 2018 Annual, which is a pre-Discovery story about Paul Stamets, his astromycology research that led to the spore drive and the early days of his relationship with Dr. Hugh Culber. It's nerdy and gay — two of my favourite traits in anything.

Both of these stories benefit from being co-written by Kirsten Beyer who works on the show. The characters are written in such a way that one can easily hear the actors delivering the lines in one's head. I often read comics adapted from TV shows I'm immersed in and that kind of consistency is not always achieved as well as it is in the Discovery comics I've read. That easy character recognition is aided by the work of illustrator Angel Hernandez who captures the likenesses of the actors well, especially Mia Kirschner and Anthony Rapp.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having the Discovery cross over into the Mirror Universe was one of the best decisions for the show and this IDW comic continues the stories of the Terran Empire in all of its murderous glory. Similar to the Aftermath series, this mini-series covers the fallout from Empress Georgiou disappearing from the Mirror Universe and being presumed dead. And an Empire won't just sit idly by without a leader for long. And the bulk of the comic follows the intrigues and plots as individuals maneuver for control of the Terran Empire.

The b-side story is an unexpected one - the background story that details how Stamets discovered the potential of the mycelial network as a transportation conduit and other things. It was an unexpected story that starts with him not even being in Starfleet but I really appreciated how things came together and brought Stamets to the Discovery.

[Shandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was super excited for Star Trek: Discovery comics, but I wasn't expecting the entire story to be set in the Mirror Universe... kind of disappointing, really. The story itself was of blood-thirsty succession along with revolution, and isn't really the kind of thing you see fully fleshed out in a Star Trek story - usually the story is about fighting such things. The artwork was very well done, it just wasn't the story I wanted. 2 stars.

The shorter comic at the end, though, was awesome, which bumps my star rating up. I really enjoyed seeing how Stametz and Culber met, and how Tilly came to be a part of the science team on Discovery! 4 stars.

[Ahdom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these Star Trek Discovery comics. There are not very many of them, but this one is great because it gives us the events in the mirror universe that season one leaves behind. I am really enjoying Discovery and I hope they keep some great comics in the Discovery line. This one also contained some great illustrations which is always a bonus. I love mirror universe, but I am a beginner when it comes to supplemental Star Trek reading so I am sure there is a lot out there that take place in the mirror universe that I need to get my hands on.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Succession is far superior to the previous Star Trek: Discover comic mini-series and is one of the best IDW Star Trek comics overall. The plotting is very tightly paced and goes in some very surprising places, too. It's not surprising at all that one of the creators (Kristen Beyer) is a writer on the show; it truly feels like a natural continuation of the Mirror Universe episodes of season one of Discover. The art by Tony Shasteen is a great balance of cartooning with on-model character design. The visual storytelling is very dynamic, too.

[Adan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pair of interesting stories. The first details what happens in the Mirror Universe after Discovery’s first season, and man, Airiam is stone cold. So many people die in that story (mostly at Airiam’s hands), I’m surprised the Terran Empire survives to Kirk’s time.

The second story details how Lt. Stamets discovered the mycelial network, how he met and got together with Dr Culber, and how he joined Starfleet. It’s a nice bit of background.

[Apostolos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This comic gives us a glimpse of the mirror universe, specifically what's happening with Mirror Burnham. Georgiou is gone (she's in the prime universe), so people assume she is dead. Someone else is, Michael's "cousin" is on the throne, but there is treachery afoot. In typical mirror universe fashion there are lots of twists and turns in the plot and the person who ends up as emperor is...unexpected. This was a fun read :-)

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely don't read this unless you're seen the first season of Star Trek: Discovery. This extrapolates on the ending showing the fight to be the next emperor in the Mirror universe. It's full of political intrigue and double crosses. Lots of fun.

Also included is the 2018 annual. It's all about spores as Paul's backstory before he joined the Discovery come to light. It's far better than a story about mushrooms should be.

[Michelle Morrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm surprised how much I enjoyed this. The first story, the succession after the "death" of Emperor Georgiou, was okay, interesting. The second story, the discovery of the mycelial network and the staffing if the Discovery, was excellent. I was all in! Now to go check online to see if it's considered canon.

[Emily Marie Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really well put together comic with two stories from the Disco arc.

The mirror universe in the first story is great, as this is one of my favourite elements of all of the different Star Trek series.

I also enjoyed the story of how Stamets and Culber met and fell in love and how Tilly got her place on Discovery.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another super well-drawn Discovery comic. Seeing as it's set in the Mirror Universe, it's got a pretty brutal body count. So high that it strains my belief that there would be any overlap in human populations between the two universes when next they meet. But that's probably just me over thinking it again. LOL

[betanine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The idea of the mirror universe is interesting, but it’s too easy to be one dimensional in the story telling. In this case, I think the story goes in an interesting direction and makes a good point.

More than the mirror universe story, I liked the back story of Stamets and the discovery of the mycelial network.

Overall, these were stories that had some depth and I thought the art was great.

[Amanda Charles · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is not a comment on the story or the art, but the quality of the book. I added this to my public library collection, and it fell apart just sitting on the shelf before anyone checked it out. Another title in this series deteriorated in a similar fashion after only one checkout. I will reevaluate future purchases from this publisher, and reconsider listing their titles for order.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a Christmas present and I sat and read it in one sitting. It was surprisingly good. Two very different stories. One set in the mirror universe, which had a pretty awesome mirror ending. And one that told the story of Paul and Hugh meeting, and Paul discovering the spores for the spore drive. Dear Gods I miss Discovery!

[Steven Shinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Off the heels of Light of Kahless, the art does not impress me as much. I don't enjoy Mirror Universe stories in comic books as much as on the screen. And the blurb is actually kinda false advertising, as you don't see every alternate version of the characters mentioned.

[Lungkisser · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-4.5. The best episodes of season 1 of Disco were the mirror universe episodes, imo (followed by the Harry Mudd eps.), and this continues the fun that those episodes were, while giving some other characters time to shine, including Mirror Michael, who I enjoyed. This was very good.

[David Sanz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Qué pasó con los terranos después de la serie? Aquí están las respuestas.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent followup to the Discovery mirror universe. Basically everyone kills everyone sort of fun romp.

[Dennis Lynch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complex story of politics and betrayals

[Debra Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

A chance to see what happened in the alternate universe and how stanis created the mycillia network.